“Our state has experienced a number of climate-related emergency situations this year, and with another coming, I prompt all Oregonians to make a strategy with your household now and be prepared,” she said.
The Emergency Management Division of the Washington State Military Department advised individuals to prepare for the storms by restricting their time outdoors, staying off the roads and dressing warmly.
The winter contrasted with conditions in much of the United States, where record-breaking high temperature levels were recorded at the end of the week and were expected to continue through the weekend.
“There will be more record highs than there will be record lows,” Mr. Chenard stated.
In the Southern Plains and mid-Atlantic, temperatures on Christmas Day were anticipated to be 25 to 35 degrees above normal. In Oklahoma and Texas, the weather was in the 90s.
In Wichita Falls, Texas, near the states border with Oklahoma, the temperature on Friday reached 91 degrees, breaking the previous December record of 88 degrees set in 1954.
Marc Chenard, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, stated the amounts of snow expected in a few of the mountain locations, particularly the Sierra Nevadas in California, were severe.
Snowfall was being measured in feet in the mountains, while the estimates for seaside areas in the West were in inches.
Forecasters stated there might be two to 5 inches of snow in Portland, Ore., this weekend and 2 to seven inches in Seattle. Mr. Chenard said it was not unheard-of for there to be snow in Seattle. In 12 of the previous 15 years, the city has had at least an inch of snow, he said.
The Pacific Northwest was likewise bracing for an unusual cold wave.
The Weather Service stated temperature levels in Washington and Oregon could drop to single digits on Sunday and the cold spell could last into early next week. The agency advised that the most susceptible populations, consisting of homeless people and those without access to heating, would be particularly at risk.
Kate Brown, the governor of Oregon, on Thursday stated a state of emergency to last through Jan. 3 since of the forecast.
Forecasters stated there might be 2 to 5 inches of snow in Portland, Ore., this weekend and two to seven inches in Seattle. Mr. Chenard stated it was not unheard-of for there to be snow in Seattle. In 12 of the past 15 years, the city has had at least an inch of snow, he stated.
A wintry weekend is expected in the Pacific Northwest, where vacation travel could be disrupted by winter season storms that have actually covered the mountains with snow, forecasters said.
The National Weather Service said single-digit temperature levels might follow the storms in Oregon and Washington, as authorities contacted residents to heed cautions about unsafe roadway conditions and to prepare for the cold.
Heavy snow was most likely in the western range of mountains, consisting of the Sierra Nevada mountain variety and Cascades, according to the Weather Prediction Center of the National Weather Service.
“Travel will be treacherous” and sometimes “impossible,” from the Sierras to the main Rockies this weekend since of whiteout conditions and drifting snow, the company alerted.
